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Best hotels & guesthouses in Sri Lanka

Are you planning a trip to Sri Lanka and looking for great places to stay? We’ve got you covered! We collected and listed all the best hotels & guesthouses in Sri Lanka we personally like the most. They all have a unique character, cozy home-like atmosphere, good location and are excellent rated. And the best part: all at an affordable price. If that’s what you searching? Be sure you check them out!

Ps: we link to booking.com because of the good prices, they don’t charge a service fee and most importantly you can often cancel your reservation without any cost a few days before your check-in. Another great advantage is that when you are a frequent traveler like us, you can give extra discounts to other people so grab your 10% discount on your next booking here.

Hikkaduwa

Located about a hundred kilometers south of Colombo, Hikkaduwa is one of the most famous beach destinations in Sri Lanka. It has a nice surf vibe, a beautiful reef, and you can spot huge sea turtles just straight at the beach. Along the wide beach, there are many hotels, plenty of restaurants and at night it’s nice to stroll around several souvenir shops. A lovely coastal town worth visiting!

Galle

Galle is such a beautiful place you need to see. In Galle fort, which is the old part of Galle, you’ll have cute little streets, beautiful art galleries, a lot of souvenir shops and lovely restaurants. It feels like some magical colonial European city where you’ll love to stroll around every afternoon and night. In our opinion the perfect place to start your trip through Sri Lanka.

Unawatuna

Unawatuna is a cute little town with a lot of great restaurants and bars next to the beach. It has some of the greatest beaches to watch the sunset. Our two favorite places were Wijaya Beach and Dalawella Beach, where you can do the famous swing. It’s not the perfect place to go surfing, but the cozy atmosphere makes this place a popular stop among a lot of backpackers.

Weligama

Weligama was one of our favorite beach stops in Sri Lanka. It’s budget-friendly, super relaxed, has great plant-based restaurants and is the perfect place to surf. And if you need a break from surfing, you can join one of the daily yoga classes offered by the many hostels and guesthouses.

Mirissa

One of the most famous beach destinations in Sri Lanka, and with a reason! Have a surf, visit beautiful Secret Beach, take the perfect picture at Palm Tree Hill and end up with a beer watching a wonderful sunset at the beach. We highly recommend staying at least 3 nights in Mirissa.

Tangalle

Our next stop from Mirissa was Tangalle, a calm and quiet beachside town along the South Coast. It’s also one the furthest beach spots before the National Park’s takes over. The sea is rough and the waves are gigantic but the water is crystal clear. Very close to Tangalle you’ll find Rekawa Beach, where we stayed. Rekawa Beach is famous for sea turtle nesting. Every night you can witness the giant sea turtles nesting and laying their eggs on the beach. Unforgettable experience!

Udawalawe National Park

Do you love elephants and like to see hundreds of them in the wild? Go on a safari in Udawalawa National Park! It’s one of the most popular national parks in Sri Lanka and the chance of spotting herds of elephants is extremely high. The best way to visit Udawalawe National Park is by staying near the park and booking a private jeep/driver as you can’t enter the park on your own. (we did it via the accommodation we’ve stayed and can highly recommend the half-day morning safari)

Yala National Park

Yala National Park is the most popular and famous park in Sri Lanka. Why so popular? It offers the chance to see one of the most beautiful big cats in the world, the leopard. (it has even the world’s biggest concentration, cool right!?) We saw one super close but were too late with our cameras to take a good picture. 😓 But besides the leopards, it’s also a beautiful park with a high variety of wild animals such as elephants, crocodiles, buffaloes, and colorful birds. And above all the scenery is incredible as well. Must see!

Ella

The moment you enter Ella, you’re entering a world of idyllic green hills, beautiful forest, tea plantations, and epic landscapes. The town itself is super cute, small and laidback although it gets quite busy in the late afternoon after everyone returns back from their daily hikes.

Kandy

Kandy is the next biggest city in Sri Lanka, after the capital Colombo. This cultural capital is famous for the Temple of Sacred Tooth which is one of the most important Buddhist relics in all of Sri Lanka. Stopping in Kandy for a night is a great idea when you’re heading afterward to Sigiriya. The journey is otherwise way too long.

Sigiriya

Sigiriya, or the Lion Rock, is an ancient rock fortress in central Sri Lanka located near the town of Dambulla. It’s a gigantic rock, 200 meters high and located in the middle of the jungle. From Sigiriya, you can go on an afternoon safari to Minneriya National Park. This is a beautiful park with huge boulders and famous for its large groups of elephants. The town itself is quiet and small. Most people stop here for a quick lunch after climbing up the two rocks, Lion Rock and Pidurangala Rock.

Unique hotels in Sri Lanka

We like unique and magical places to stay. Places that leaves you wondering, like ‘was that real’? and you don’t want to leave. Places you need to see once in your life too! So if you’re in for a magical night, check out the following beautiful and unique hotels.

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